"Tangled" is a cute, well animated Disney feature that's more "Emperor's New Groove" than "The Little Mermaid". Inspired by the tale of Rapunzel, she of the epic hair, it's quick and funny, with a scene-stealing horse and good voice work (Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi) but it's pretty weightless, especially compared to the superlative "Rango". This Gore Verbinski-directed animated Western features a Johnny Depp-voiced chameleon who accidentally ends up in a remnant town from the Old West, complete with a sheriff, outlaws and a love interest. It's self-aware without being self-indulgent, and surely contains the best "Apocalypse Now" reference I've seen.
Finally, the French "A Town Called Panic" is a force unto itself, a stop motion animated film put together from found objects (toys) and much cleverness. The film stars a rather heroic horse, Horse, who shares a house with a room-sharing Cowboy and Indian in a French farming village. As Horse's birthday draws near, his friends decide on a perfect gift. Let's just say that things go wrong, and chaos ensues. It's unpredictable and eminently rewatchable.
On a somewhat related note, those who have not entered the advertising world of the 1960s are missing out on some of the best written television available. "Mad Men" season 4 somehow manages to equal the third season's sophistication and surprises, and I cannot believe that Jon Hamm remains Emmy-less.
